After having spent the weekend doing little else but play around with the Herborizer Ti - I'm less enthusiastic about it.
Sighs:
1. The bowl for flower is small - I have to use at least 2 bowls each time to get my desired result.
2. The bowl gets dirty quickly and isn't the easiest or most convenient to clean. After each use, while it's still hot - I pull out the spent material, and give it a good brushing. Once it is cool to the touch - I hit it with a glob mop that has been dunked in ISO, then use the other dry side of the glob mop, to help dry it faster, and aide in the removal of oils, etc. Despite that - it still looks grungy after just a few uses. If you use this regularly, you'd definitely want to get a second bowl and keep one in a bath of ISO and rotate between the two - as i've seen some folks here in the thread recommend.
3. The equipment feels somewhat cheap. The cords, connections, glass, selector knob/apparatus, case for the titanium nail - it all feels low budget. It's not a terribly expensive unit, so I wouldn't call it a major issue - but it is worth noting it certainly is not going to give you a "premium feel"
4. It's a bit of a process to pull everything out and set it up. No major complaints, it's not a big deal - and it's not as involved as other vaporizers I own, but if it's all put away, it takes a bit of effort to pull everything out, assemble it, let it come to temp, use it - then break it back down.
5. This is going to be the most controversial comment - I really don't think the flavor is anything special at all. In its first use - I used an ultra-premium tier one flower from 710 Labs that is a smack in the face of flavor, which is why I initially felt it was as good as the Tafee Bowle in terms of flavor, but after using the same flower (and different flowers) side by side with the Tafee Bowle, I have to correct my initial impression - in terms of flavor, the Tafee Bowle beats the Herborizer Ti in every instance, no matter what setting I put the Herborizer on. I bought the Ti solely for the allegedly best-of-breed flavor, but it's far enough off (for me) that the punchiness of the hits don't outweigh the backstepping of flavor I get from my TB, so I don't see using this much. I have a Tiny Might on the way, with some fancy J hook setups that allegedly taste even better than the TB, so if that in fact ends up being true - it'll further demote the Herborizer.
6. Incredibly smelly. If you take a few hits and clear a bowl - the room you're in is going to have a STRONG cannabis scent to it for a few hours, even if you have a small jar of Ozium open. The Ozium will overpower and kill the odor, but in my experience, it takes a few hours - whereas the Tafee Bowle - I can use 6 feet from someone indoors and they won't smell a single whiff (just don't blow the vapor directly at them) and there is no perceptible odor in the room.
Highs:
1. Hit's like a train. It can easily exhaust your material in 1-2 hits when the dial is set around 5.5
2. The flavor is superior to some vaporizers I have, like the Pax 2 and Mighty+ - even if/when the Mighty+ is used with a bubbler straw or the like. I'm not convinced the flavor is noticeably superior to my Volcano Hybrid with the Obsidian glass bubbler attachment, but the Herborizer Ti hits MUCH harder than the Volcano, as 1-2 quick hits on the Herborizer = several full bags from the Volcano, and the overall setup/usage of the Volcano with the bubbler attachment is a much bigger hassle. Never say never - but now that I own the Herborizer Ti - the likelihood the Volcano Hybrid ever gets plugged in again is quite low. If I ever had a friend over to indulge - i'd set them up on their own desktop - so the Volcano might come out to play in that scenario.
3. The nail works quite well for concentrates - and the flavor from concentrates is materially superior to the Puffco Peak Pro I have. The Puffco has the convenience and "cool" factor - but it takes quite a few hits from the puffco to clear a dab/bowl (at least for me - perhaps i'm not using it right) whereas the Herborizer is a one shot, one kill setup, that is far less harsh and far more flavorful.
4. The monster hits are as smooth as air for me. Even at high settings where a big hit literally fogs an entire room, there is zero coughing or discomfort, and I feel like I could take monster hit after hit without any discomfort.
Now, with the above said, I haven't tried any other "heavy hitters" like the VapBong and the Cannabis Hardware B2 - so perhaps for heavy hitters, the Herborizer Ti has notably superior flavor than that the other big boys, but I was expecting (perhaps unrealistically) that the Herborizer would provide noticeably superior flavor to Tafee Bowle, and for me personally - the opposite is true. Based on the aforementioned - I ordered a Mini VapBong to compare it to, as I greatly prefer the "all in one" design and the ability to keep it out in the open, without it looking like paraphenelia - such that the setup time becomes nearly nill. Provided the flavor from the VapBong it isn't bad and it provides similar levels of comfort, I can't see using the Herborizer Ti in the future for anything other than the occasional dab.
In retrospect, I probably should have spent the extra $, and gone with the Cannabis Hardware B2 premium bundle - as it looks like it would be superior for dabs (with the sapphire dish) and it might hit even harder than the Herborizer Ti, and be able to accept more flower such that I wouldn't have to do 2-3 bowls to get my desired results. I'm crossing my fingers that the VapBong will fit my original use case, but I'm guessing I'll ultimately end up picking up the B2 Bundle in the future if it's on sale during the 4/20 drop, choosing a favorite, then giving the other desktop systems away to friends, but all-in-all, the Herborizer Ti just isn't a good fit for me and the use case I was going for. The quality of the components, and the setup experience don't give me a "special occasion" experience, and i'd rather clear a few, more flavorful pots from the Tafee Bowle, to get to where I want to be. When setup time and waiting for the unit to get up to temp are taken into consideration - the TB is far less effort, more flavorful and all-in-one/compact.
I do see the value/appeal of the Herborizer though - and if you were a very heavy user, kept it on most of the day, and always left it out/assembled - it offers a very strong value proposition, as you can get freight train hits quickly and with ease, the monster hits are as smooth as glass and you still preserve a good portion of the terp flavor/profile - especially in the lower range of settings. Overall - solid unit, and in the aforementioned use case, I'd still strongly recommend the Herborizer Ti, but for me - I can't see ever using this unit again (for flower) over my Tafee Bowle. In fact - perhaps these "heavy hitting" desktops aren't for me at all... time will tell.
It's my first true heavy hitter and I can't wait to try it! It looks like the perfect combo for me, excellent taste and plenty of power to clear a bowl in 1-2 hits. I do small bowls anyway, it's perfect for me.
